1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to using a recording unit to record an event and, in particular, to marking recording data as a recording is being obtained to enable subsequent identification of one or more parts of the recording that are associated with one or more marks.
2. Related Art
It is often desirable to record the content of an event (especially by obtaining an audio, a visual or an audiovisual recording of the event). For example, a person may desire to record an event (particularly one in which they participate) as a way of facilitating reminiscence of the event. Or, a person may desire to communicate the content of an event to one or more other people who were not present.
During recording of an event, it can be desirable to mark the recording. Some recording devices (e.g., some camcorders) can enable a mark of a single type to be associated with recording data at the time the recording data is obtained, the mark intended to indicate that the content represented by the recording data is of interest and may be particularly desirable to view during later display of the recording. The use of such a mark can enable the medium on which the recording data is stored to be searched to identify and display one or more parts of a recording in accordance with the location of mark(s) within the recording.
In a camcorder, marking is most easily implemented by storing marking data on the videotape onto which recording data is recorded. However, storing marking data on a videotape (or other linear data storage medium) has disadvantages. For example, searching for marks can take an undesirably long time, because the entire recording between a current location within the recording and a marked location within the recording must be traversed to reach the marked location. Additionally, for a similar reason, moving from a display of one marked part of a recording to another marked part of a recording can take an undesirably long time.
It is desirable to have greater flexibility in marking a recording. For example, it is desirable to be able to mark recording data of a recording other than the recording data being obtained at the time the mark is specified. This is particularly so since it may not be realized that it is desirable to mark a part of a recording until some time other than the time at which that part of the recording is being obtained. It is also desirable to be able to mark a recording with marks of different types, each type of mark having a different meaning. Such marking could be used to better facilitate searching and/or display of the recording by enabling increasing specificity in the identification of the content of parts of the recording. Further, it is desirable to store recording data and marking data on a non-linear data storage medium, since that enables faster searching for occurrence of a mark in a recording and also enables more flexible movement between different marked parts of a recording.